This invention relates generally to automated multimedia systems, and, more specifically, to a computer-based system for learning to play or practice a musical instrument.
Learning to play a musical instrument can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience. In fact, almost everyone at one time or another has either attempted to play or has considered learning to play a musical instrument. However, to develop proficiency in playing a musical instrument requires dedication, many hours of practice, and the application of proper playing techniques and methods.
Conventional learning tools and sources of instructional information for learning to play a musical instrument include music teachers, music books, audio tapes or compact disks (CDs), and video tapes. While each of these offers certain advantages, each is also limited in the quality of instruction or the manner in which the information is presented.
For example, a music teacher provides personally-tailored instruction, however the cost of the instruction is relatively expensive and each session is necessarily limited both in time and depth. Additionally, the student may be limited to learning the playing style and habits (both good and bad) of the particular teacher, which may limit the student's creativity and spontaneity. To develop proficiency the student must devote many hours to practicing assigned material alone and unsupervised, and if questions arise during these practice sessions they must usually be saved until the next lesson. In addition, the practice material assigned by the instructor is static and is therefore unable to accommodate and adjust to the student's individual progress or proficiency.
Music books provide a relatively low-cost alternative or adjunct to a music teacher. Most of the newer music books include accurate transcriptions of the music and many include notes and playing tips for helping the student learn the material. However, the material presented by music books is necessarily static and if the student has difficulty reading and interpreting music, particularly the tempo and rhythm, then music books provide a limited instructional capability. Additionally, music books are not interactive and provide no feedback to the student, making it difficult to develop a "feeling" for the music which is necessary to progress beyond purely technical or mechanical playing.
Audio tapes or compact disks combine recorded songs and musical passages with instructional commentary and playing tips. Some audio tapes and compact disks include songs and musical passages recorded both at normal speed and reduced speed to make learning easier for the student. With both audio tapes and compact disks, however, looping or repeating a particular song or passage may be cumbersome and difficult. In addition, if the songs and musical passages are not recorded at reduced speed, then reducing the speed using conventional tape or compact disk players is generally not possible. Moreover, audio tapes and compact disks do not provide any visual instruction or feedback, which can make it difficult for the student to develop a feeling for the music.
Video tapes provide sound and full-motion video so that the student can see the instructor and simultaneously hear the song or passage being played. The nature of the video tape medium, however, allows little or no interactive control of the delivery of the instructional material. The lesson is presented at one speed and looping or repeating in order to practice a particular song or musical passage is difficult. Additionally, the imaging resolution of standard video tapes is inadequate to allow the musical notation or tablature to be displayed in an acceptably readable format on the television screen. Moreover, video tapes are also relatively expensive, ranging in price from $50.00 to over $100.00.
Recently, computer-based music instruction systems have been proposed to address some of the limitations of the conventional tools and sources of information. For example, a device called the "G-VOX" (available from Lyrrus, Inc., 35 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19106) includes a detachable pickup and signal processor for connecting a guitar to a personal computer. The G-VOX signal processor contains a music-detection algorithm for detecting notes and chords as they are played and converting them to digital signals which can be processed by the computer. The G-VOX also includes a software program which can familiarize a beginner with the basic notes and chords on a guitar, and software libraries containing additional information regarding more advanced techniques and styles.
However, the G-VOX provides no audio feedback of the guitar being played, making it difficult to develop the musical feeling necessary to progress beyond purely technical or mechanical playing. Additionally, the sound provided by the computer is limited to examples of short note sequences and chord progressions. There is no video feedback of an instructor, no voice commentary or playing tips and, since there is no audio feedback of the guitar being played, there is no live tone to be matched to the computer-generated tone to provide ear training. Finally, the overall operation and sensitivity of the G-VOX requires that the detachable pickup be precisely positioned over the guitar strings. Thus, although the G-VOX does address some of the limitations of convention tools and information sources, it does not provide an integrated approach to learning both technical playing skills and musical feeling.
In an attempt to address some of the limitations of conventional instructional materials, students have often practiced songs and passages by slowing down 331/3 RPM vinyl records to 161/2 RPM. In particular, the student plays along with the slowed song or musical passage, repeating the process until the particular song or passage is learned. This approach requires the student to transpose the music, since slowing the rotational speed by one half also lowers the pitch of each note by approximately one octave. In addition, only half speed is usually available and repeating a song or passage is very cumbersome and the overall process is time consuming. Moreover, this approach is generally not possible with cassette tapes, video tapes or conventional compact disks.
The basic concept of listening and immediately playing is known to be a powerful technique for learning both neuromotor skills and feeling required to develop playing proficiency. Recent studies regarding the learning of complex neuromotor skills have been conducted using interactive video games. Many of these studies indicate that dramatic increases in playing skill can occur if a player plays a game immediately after having observed an expert play the game. Specifically, stress and the negative effects of stress on the player can play significant roles in inhibiting the player from achieving additional levels of successful play. The learning feedback and associated stress reduction which can occur by watching the expert play can lead to rapid learning of new eye-hand combinations, new playing strategies, and new ways of operating the manual playing device that is used to interact with the game.
The results of the learning studies using interactive video games are directly applicable to the learning of a musical instrument. In particular, the quality and efficiency of learning can be dramatically improved by having the student first observe an expert play a song or passage, and immediately afterwards having the student then play the same song or passage. This is, in fact, the teaching approach utilized by many music teachers to help the student to more efficiently develop both technical playing skills and an overall feeling for the tempo, rhythm and structure of the music.
Accordingly, there is a need for an interactive method and system for learning and practicing a musical instrument which provides both audio and visual feedback, and in which the delivery of the instructional material can be controlled by the student. Further, there is a need for such an interactive method and system which provides an integrated learning approach in which the student can observe an expert play a song or passage and then immediately play the same song or passage. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.